Iron Lion of Cangzhou

Cast in the Later Zhou dynasty in 953, the iron lion is the largest known and oldest surviving iron-cast artwork in China.

On its back, it carries a basin-shaped lotus throne with a maximum diameter of about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and a height of 70 cm (28 in).

Presumably, the iron lion was originally displayed inside a Buddhist temple and carried a bronze statue of the bodhisattva Manjusri on the lotus seat.

In the next step, material is taken off the surface of the inner clay model in order to provide room for pouring the iron between the outer and inner mould.

Traces of these bridging pegs as well as those of wrought iron spacers used to separate the outer mould from the core can still be found in the sculpture.